Rotatable toy on a sectional shaft



Nov. 7, 1967 M. BENDER ROTATABLE TOY ON A SECTIONAL SHAFT Filed Aug. 30, 1965 .Z alb I N VIiN TOR.

M42 77H .8 ENDEE M A TO RN EV United States Patent 3,350,811 ROTATABLE TOY ON A SECTIONAL SHAFT Martin Bender, 162 N. Alta Vista Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90036 Filed Aug. 30, 1965, Ser. No. 483,492 20 Claims. (Cl. 46-51) This invention pertains in general to an amusement device and in particular to a toy utilizing the force of gravity for its operation. l

As is commonly known, there are a great many toys on the present day market. While the success of the toy de pends upon many varying factors, it is generally believed that widespread acceptance of the toy can be laid to certain significant material factors such as the cost of the toy and the durability of the toy, and to certain intangible factors such as the interest of the toy and the challenge it presents to its user. In addition, it is desirable that it be safe in the hands of its user and that its operation be inexpensive, that is, it does not require constant replacement of parts which are either used up by it or used in actuating it.

All of these requirements are satisfied by applicants device in which there is provided two or more helically grooved rods which are adapted to be mated to one another so as to form a continuous helical groove along their combined length. A rotor placed at the top of one of the rods commences to ride on the grooves and travels downwards along the length of the rod; as the rotor proceeds to the bottom of such first rod, the second rod is coupled thereto and the rotor is transferred to the second rod. The first rod is then removed and quickly mated to the bottom of the second rod before the rotor can reach the end thereof.

It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide a new and novel toy.

It is another object of the invention to provide a toy which is actuated purely by the force of gravity.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a toy which is safe in its operation and does not employ expendable parts.

It is another object of the invention to provide a toy which is inexpensive to manufacture.

It is another object of the invention to provide a toy which requires coordination and practice and is a challenge to its user.

It is another object of the invention to provide a toy in which a rotor traveling down a helically grooved rod is transferred to a mated helically grooved rod in a continuous rotational motion.

The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be expressly understood, however, that the drawings are provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention.

FIGURE 1a illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 1b illustrates various modifications of the rods used in FIGURE la.

FIGURE 2 illustrates various types of connectors by which the rods shown in FIGURES 1a and b may be mated.

FIGURES 3ac illustrate several types of rotors usable in FIGURE la.

In FIGURE 1, there is illustrated a rod a having a series of helical grooves 12a cut therein. The rod 10a has a male connector 14a at the top thereof in the form of a cylindrical pin and a female connector 16a at the 3,350,811 Patented Nov. 7, 1967 bottom thereof in the form of a cylindrical hole. Below the rod 10a is shown a rod 10b having similar spiral grooves 12b, a male connector 14b and a female connector 16b. In operation, a hollow rotor 18, which has a gear in the center thereof (not shown) adapted to fit the helical grooves 12a and 12b, is placed at the top of rod 10a and proceeds to rotate down the length thereof under the force of gravity. Before the rotor 18 comes to the end of the helical grooves 12a in .rod 10a, rod 10b is mated with rod 10a in such a fashion that the helical grooves 12a and 12b form one continuous groove, and the rotor 18 is transferred onto rod 10b by means of such helical grooves 12b. This mating is done: by the insertion of the male connector 14b into the female connector 16a. The rod 10a is then removed from rod 10b while the rotor 18 is traveling the length of rod 10b and is quickly mated to the bottom of rod 10b by means of male connector 14a and female connector 16b before the rotor 18 has reached the bottom of rod 1012. It is: easily seen that the quick removal of one rod from the other (the rod not containing the rotor) and the placing and aligning of that rod below the rod containing the rotor insures the. continuous movement of the rotor down the successive rods. In addition, at any point in the descent of the rotor, the rods could be turned upside down and the rotation of the rotor reversed. In a particular embodiment of the device, the rods 10a and 10b were composed of a plastic material 14 inches long and one inch in diameter. The helical grooves 12a and 12b were 4: inch in depth, /2 inch wide, and 1% inches apart as measured parallel to the axis of the rod.

While the rods shown in FIGURE 10 are straight and of the same length, there may be many variations of such rods. Some of these variations are shown by rods 20, 22, and 24 illustrated in FIGURE lb. As is shown, the rods are of different lengths and the helical grooves 12 on rods 20, 22 are of varying pitches, including portions thereof which have straight drops. In addition, as shown on rod 20, there can be grooves wound clockwise and also counterclockwise so that the rotor can rotate in either direction along the rod. Moreover, as shown by rod 24, the rods can be of various arcuate shapes, or can even be helical themselves, and made of a flexible material so that they can be bent into a variety of shapes. Furthermore, instead of riding in grooves 12, the rotor 18 can ride on raised tracks 12" shown on rod 24. All of the different configurations are meant to provide a more'interesting device and a greater challenge to the user.

In FIGURE 2, various types of connectors 26zz-e are shown for the rods 10a, 10b in FIGURE 1a. Since the helical grooves 12a and 12b must be properly joined, it is also an element of skill in the operation of the device to join the grooves properly before the rotor 18 comes to the end of one of the rods. While the greatest flexibility, and thus the greatest difficulty in use, is provided by having connectors which are cylindrical, as shown in FIG- URE la, it may be preferablefor the inexperienced to begin with an easier type of connector. Thus for example, there is shown in FIGURE 2 connector 26a which is square, thus allowing four positions of fit, connector 26b which is triangular, allowing three positions of fit, connector 260 which is rectangular, allowing two positions of fit and connector 26d which is irregular in shape, such as a semi-circle, and which will allow the rods to be fitted together only in one position.

In order to realize greatest flexibility in having the rotor travel either way along the length of the rods, it is desirable that either end of either rod be able to be connected together. To achieve this for the case of two rods, one rod could have two male connectors and the other rod could have two female connectors, as shown by rods 20, 22 in FIGURE lb. If it is desired that all the connectors be identical so that more than two rods can be interchanged, connector 262, shown in FIGURE 2, may be used which has both a male and a female connector molded in both parts. Since the connectors on the ends of all the rods are identical, it is obvious that either end of a rod would be able to mate to either end of any other rod having the same type of connector attached thereto. In addition, the male part of the connector could be constructed so as to be rotatable within its mounting socket and thus provide the complete flexibility of connection obtained by the simple cylindrical shaft and hole, malefemale type coupling. As the user progresses in his ability to handle the device, these various types of couplings can be employed. The couplings may be fitted to the rods a and 10b by means of a screw-in type of fitting or by the snap-in fitting using spring-loaded ball bearings.

The last element of the toy, the rotor, is illustrated in FIGURES 3a-c. In FIGURE 3a, the rotor comprises a bell-shaped structure 28 which has a series of teeth 30 (or a continuous track if desired) molded therein to fit the helical grooves 12a and 12b in the rods 10a and 10b. The inside diameter of the rotor is slightly larger than the rods 10a and 10b so as to insure a free and continuous movement down the rods under the force of gravity. The rotor may be composed of a plastic type of material or a combination of plastic and metal, the weight and size of the rotor determining in part the speed at which it travels down the rods 10a and 10b. In addition, provision has been made to provide adjustable weights 32 at the lip of the rotor which could serve to unbalance the rotor and thus vary the speed thereof during its travel down the rods. The edge of the rotor 28 has been rounded so as to insure the safety of the device. In FIGURE 3b, the rotor 28' has a toroidal shape which provides complete symmetry in either direction of travel. In addition, it has a continuous groove 34 cut therein to match the raised track 12" shown in FIGURE lb. In FIGURE 30, the rotor 28" is an open structure formed by two concentric rings 36', 36" and spokes 38a, b, c which join the concentric rings 36', 36" and provide support for the gears 40a, b, c. This type of a rotor is likewise symmetrical and is very easy to mold.

Having thus described the invention, it is apparent that numerous modifications and departures may now be made by those skilled in the art, all of which fall within the scope contemplated by the invention. Consequently, the invention herein disclosed to be construed as limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy comprising: a rotor; a plurality of rods having a formed surface thereon for permitting said rotor to rotate along at least a portion of the lengths of said rods; and means for temporarily mating said rods to one another for permitting the continuous rotational passage of the said rotor from one rod to another.

2. The toy of claim 1 wherein said rods differ in the structural configuration thereof.

3. The toy of claim 1 further comprising connectors for mating said rods, said connectors being adapted to be inserted and withdrawn from the ends of said rods.

4. The toy of claim 1 wherein said mating means allow the ends of. said rods to be mated in an indefinite number of positions.

5. The toy of claim 1 wherein said mating means allow the ends of said rods to be mated only in a preselected number of positions.

6. The toy of claim 1 wherein said mating means allow either ends of a plurality of rods to be mated.

7. The toy of claim 6 wherein said mating means have male and female portions formed in both sections thereof.

'8. A toy comprising: a plurality of rods having generally helical-shaped tracks thereon; a rotor adapted to ride on said tracks for rotating along at least a portion of the length of said rods; and means for temporarily mating said rods to one another for forming a continuous track whereby said rotor may rotate from one rod to another.

9. The toy of claim 8 wherein said rods have raised tracks thereon and said rotor has a groove formed therein matched to fit said raised tracks.

10. The toy of claim 8 wherein said rotor has an adjustable weight connected thereto.

11. A gravity actuated toy comprising: a plurality of helically grooved rods adapted for temporary mating to one another for forming a continuous helical groove; and a rotor adapted to ride on said grooves for rotating downwards along at least a portion of the length of said rods.

12. The toy of claim 11 wherein each of said plurality of rods have clockwise and counterclockwise grooves therein.

13. The toy of claim 11 wherein at least one of said plurality of helically grooved rods has helical grooves of varying pitches therein.

14. The toy of claim 11 wherein said rotor has one or more gears thereon matched to fit said helical grooves.

15. A gravity actuated toy comprising: a plurality of helically grooved rods; a rotor adapted to ride on said grooves for rotating downwards along at least a portion of the length of said rods; and means for temporarily mating said rods to one another for allowing said rotor to pass from the end of one rod to the beginning of another along a continuous helical groove, said rods being generally mated only when said rotor is to be passed from one rod to another.

16. The toy of claim 15 wherein said rotor comprises a generally bell-shaped structure.

17. The toy of claim 15 wherein said rotor comprises a generally toroidally-shaped structure.

18. The toy of claim 15 wherein said rotor comprises a series of concentric rings joined by a plurality of spokes, each of said spokes have a tooth thereon matched to fit said helical grooves.

19. In a toy having a plurality of rods adapted to allow a rotor to rotate along at least a portion of the lengths thereof, the method of operation comprising: placing said rotor on a first end of a first one of said rods, allowing said rotor to rotate along at least -a portion of the length of said first rod, and placing a first end of a second rod at the second end of said first rod for transferring said rotor from said first rod to said second rod in a continuous rotational manner.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of placing said first rod at the second end of second rod for transferring said rotor back to said first rod.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,195,938 8/1916 Andreas 4647 2,087,397 7/1937 Dinsmoor 1 XR 2,423,198 7/ 1947 McGlure 4647 LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner.

R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner. 

8. A TOY COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF RODS HAVING GENERALLY HELICAL-SHAPED TRACKS THEREON; A ROTOR ADAPTED TO RID ON SAID TRACKS FOR ROTATING ALONG AT LEAST PORTION OF THE LENGTH OF SAID RODS; AND MEANS FOR TEMPORARILY MATING SAID RODS TO ONE ANOTHER FOR FORMING A CONTINUOUS TRACK WHEREBY SAID ROTOR MAY ROTATE FROM ONE ROD TO ANOTHER. 